If you’re fortunate to be hiking Muir Woods at sunset, be sure to keep your ears open and eyes peeled. You may just encounter one of the parks more stealthy inhabitants.On any of the park’s many trails, you may hear the low-pitched “ho-ho-hooo,” of a horned owl, or the distinctive “who-cooks-for-you, who-cooks-for-you-all" hooting of the barred owl. But one owl species remains conspicuously quiet -- the northern spotted owl.

Even before Woodie Guthrie sang "This land is your land...," Americans had a solid history of maintaining and sharing public lands. September 24 brings this value into sharp focus: The annual National Public Lands Day is the largest assembly of volunteer effort on behalf of public lands in history. We'll help you get in on the action!

People travel from around the world to visit the America's National Parks. They come for scenery, wildlife, human history. But rarely do they come for the food. Instead they usually find the same fare available at most any shopping mall food court. That may soon change soon thanks to work being done at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Though named for legendary conservationist John Muir, Muir Woods National Monument is really the legacy of William Kent, a wealthy landowner and politician. His gift to the nation 100 years ago of this redwood-lined valley in southwestern Marin, containing the last significant old-growth stands in the county, meant that millions of visitors from around the region and the world would get to witness these magnificent trees. The park's anniversary caps a remarkable century of conservation in the Bay Area.